


Addled

by Nonia



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works, The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Durin Family, Family, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 12:43:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonia/pseuds/Nonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A blow to the head leaves Kili acting unlike himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Addled

**Author's Note:**

> In response to the Hobbit Kink-meme prompt: 
> 
> A blow to the head reverts Kili back to childhood in his mind. At first, when the company thinks he's only a little dazed and will snap out of it, it's amusing. But he doesn't snap out of it and all they can do is care for him and hope he heals. He needs to be watched at all times, ride double with someone, wants to be carried, told stories, and just wants someone to play with.

**_Addled_ **

The older Dwarves gathered at the mouth of the cave were awaiting word from the younger ones who had scouted ahead to check whether the caverns at the back of cave they would camp in that night was empty. Gandalf had gone ahead again, to meet them later. 

Suddenly, there was a cry of “Fili! Ori! Out of the way!” followed by a heavy sound of rock falling and then Fili’s horrified, “Kili!

Imagining the worst, the dwarves rushed forward to see Fili crouched by Kili, carefully holding his brother’s head in his lap as Ori shaking told them, “A rock dislodged and Kili pushed us out of the way!”

Leaving Ori to his brothers, Thorin pushed his way to his nephews’ side. Kneeling down he saw Fili trying to shake Kili awake. He gingerly brushed Kili’s hair back to reveal the gash on his head, as Fili’s voice became more frantic, “A rock the size of my head! It hit him as he pushed us away. Why won’t he wake?!”

Thorin patted Kili’s cheek, loudly calling his name, sagging with relief as Kili finally groaned, eyes half opening as he slowly sat up, aided by his brother. Thorin lent back as Kili sat slumped, head down and hair obscuring his face. Fili was pushing the hair back muttering, “Let me see.” And Kili only moved his head away, scooting closer to Thorin. 

The elder Dwarf, now worried again, gripped Kili’s chin and forced him to look up, Kili dazedly tried to focus on Thorin only to slump backward, caught by Fili. 

Calling for Oin, Thorin tried again, “Kili, look at me.” Finally the youngest of his nephews managed to half focus on him and of all things reached out to grab the silver streaks in Thorin’s hair, “Uncle, you have misril in your hair.” 

Thorin paused, it had been a while since the boys called him uncle, and even longer since Kili mispronounced his /Th/s with /S/s. Calling for Oin again, he gently untangled Kili’s hand from his hair, heart thundering in his chest, he looked up as Oin told them to bring Kili outside into the light. Nodding, he stood up and asked, “Kili, can you stand?” 

 

Kili hesitated before raising both arms towards his uncle; Thorin wrapped his hands around Kili’s forearms and pulled him to his feet, gesturing for Fili to help him get Kili outside. 

Settling Kili on the grass, Thorin raised Kili’s head again to see the gash on his forehead, “Fili, get some water to wash this out.”

At hearing his brother’s name, Kili started looking around, “Fili?” 

Turning around at hearing Kili call his name, Fili paused and knelt by Kili as he asked, “Yes, little brother?” only to be faced with a frown, “Fili, why do you have a moustache?” Kili asked taking one braid in each hand and pulling. 

Yelping in pain, Fili tried to untangle Kili’s hands, and finally managed with some help from Thorin. To their horror, Kili looked on the verge of tears, “Uncle, you look different, and...and uncle, I don’t feel well...” Kili finished in a small voice. 

Thorin gestured for Fili to get the water and gathered Kili into his arms, “You were hit on the head lad, Oin’ll see to you and you will feel better on the morrow.” 

It had taken a lot of convincing and cajoling and sending Fili away because he looked different and it upset Kili, to allow Oin to tend to Kili, and give him some herbs to sooth the pain and make him sleep. Thorin asked Oin as the others set camp around them, “Is it normal? That he is so addled? He acts as he used to when he was a child!”

Oin took a moment to answer before gruffly saying, “It’s just the shock from the blow to the head, give him time and he’ll be right as rain.”

Thorin nodded his thanks, unable to move since Kili insisted on using Thorin’s legs as a pillow and Thorin was loathe to refuse him as he begged in a shaking voice. 

When camp was finally settled, Thorin gingerly laid Kili’s head on a bedroll and draped his cloak over his nephew as Fili took a seat next to Kili to keep an eye on him. He joined the others closer to the fire, conversation, predictably revolving around whether Kili would recover by the morrow or not. 

They were interrupted by Fili and Kili’s arrival, Fili telling Thorin apologetically, “He insisted.” As Kili dropped next to Thorin, wrapped both arms around his uncle’s and lent his weight against him. Thorin had to brace himself against the weight, Kili wasn’t the tiny lad who used to cling to him in the past anymore. 

Everyone else respectively turned to other conversation as Thorin asked, “Kili?”

Kili lent up to whisper in Thorin’s ear, “Who are all these Dwarves, Uncle Sorin? Why are we here? Where’s Ma? Are we camping?” He had recognised Dwalin and Balin, Gloin and Bombur also, but not the rest, whom he did not know in childhood. 

Fili sat on Kili’s other side, gently placing a hand on Kili’s shoulder, “I told you little brother, have you forgotten?”

Kili glared at him, “Mama said we’re too young for adventures. And not to lie.”

Fili gave Thorin a helpless look as the elder gently placed his cheek onto Kili’s head, “Your brother speaks the truth, Kili.”

A distressed noise escaped Kili, “Mama said we’re too young!” Thorin shushed him gently, unsure of what to tell him, “My head aches, Uncle.” Kili complained. 

Thorin wordlessly accepted some herbal tea from Oin and helped Kili drink it, Fili’s hand hovering over Kili’s as he ate his stew, Kili finally settled and when told to rest, he demanded a story.

Ori piped up, “I know stories! I know lots of them!” which earned him Kili’s attention who brightened slightly, “You do?”

Ori nodded, and moving closer to Kili who was nestled against Fili, he spent the evening telling Kili stories until he fell asleep. 

*****

Morning was a tense affair. All awaiting Kili to wake and see if he was still confused by the blow to the head. Fili had slipped out of his brother’s grip in order to gather their belongings, and had turned his back for only a minute when a soft cry of pain erupted. 

Turning in alarm he found Kili sitting up in his bedroll, holding a knife in one hand and the other a bloody palm. “Where did you get that?!” Fili cried out snatching the knife out of Kili’s hand as Kili whimpered, “It was in my boot! I didn’t put it there! I found it!”

Realising that they should have taken Kili’s weapons away, Fili gently took his palm urging him to let him see. Dwalin, drawn by the noise approached, and Kili’s bashfulness of the large Dwarf as a child seemed to return, for he ducked his head and was so intent on not meeting Mr. Dwalin’s eyes as he knelt by Fili, he hardly felt his brother clean and wrap the shallow cut. 

Dwalin took it upon himself to search Kili’s belongings for all weapons as Bofur, after the promise of teaching Kili a game convinced the Dwarf to go by the fire with him with some breakfast, giving Fili the chance to pack up their belongings. 

Fili looked up with a grin as Kili called out, “Fili! Look! Mister Bofur taught me coin snatching!” Placing a coin at his elbow he caught it with the same arm’s hand. Fili called out, “That’s great! Keep practicing and you can catch ten together!” 

Eyes widening, Kili asked, “You can catch more than one?!” and Fili nodded, “Bifur once caught 40 together, didn’t you Bifur?” he asked. 

At seeing Bifur nod, Kili lost any and all reservations about the scary Dwarf with an axe in his head and spent his morning practicing and watching Bifur catch coins with admiration. 

Finally ready to leave, Fili sat astride his pony looking at Kili who was staring at his own pony in trepidation. Thorin was holding the reigns of his pony as he asked Kili, “What is it, lad?”

Kili sidled closer to Thorin and away from the pony, “I don’t know how to ride, uncle...what if I fall?!”

Fili interrupted saying, “You can ride with me, little brother. We’ll put the supplies on yours pony and ride on mine.”

Relief flooding his frame, Kili jumped at Fili as soon as he got off his horse to transfer his belongings, hugging his older brother tightly, Kili buried his head in Fili’s fur coat. Fili gently carded his hand through Kili’s hair with a slight smile, “Aye, I love you too, little brother.”

Between the pair of them, Thorin and Fili had Kili settled on Fili’s pony, Kili’s pony trailing behind. Kili accepted the task of holding his pony’s lead very seriously, promising his uncle earnestly that he would not let go no matter what. 

The moment the pony moved, Kili was startled, grasping Fili’s hands and almost dropping the other pony’s lead. Fili wrapped an arm around Kili to steady him, “Easy, little brother, you’re fine.” He reassured until Kili loosened the death grip he had on Fili.

*****

Midday saw them on foot, each leading their pony as the path was too treacherous for them to be riding the ponies. The novelty of the adventure had faded, and Kili had started to lag, Fili and Ori and occasionally Gloin and Bombur distracting him with stories and songs and pointing out things of interest. 

Suddenly, Kili left Fili’s side and ran to the front, inching around Dwalin’s pony to get to Thorin’s side while ignoring Fili’s command for him to come back. Kili grasped Thorin’s sleeve and was quiet for a while before tugging on Thorin’s sleeve, “Uncle, can we rest? I’m tired.”

Thorin shook his head, “The path is too treacherous, we will rest on the other side.”

Kili lowered his head with a small sniffle before pulling at Thorin’s sleeve again. Thorin reminded himself not to be sharp with the boy, he was still addled from his head wound, “Uncle, I need to stop. I’m tired and my head hurts. Please, Uncle.”

Thorin took Kili’s hand in his own and firmly told him, “We will rest at the other side of this path. Go to Oin, he will give you tea for your head and I promise you rest later.”

Thorin stared as Kili stomped his foot and stopped moving. He had forgotten those childhood tantrums of his nephew’s. “I don’t want tea! I don’t want to walk anymore! I’m tired and I want to stop!” cried Kili. 

There was a worried murmur amongst the others as Thorin stopping meant everyone else behind him did. “Kili...”

Kili shook his head, “No!”

Finally Dwalin stepped up and said, “Thorin, if you’ll take my axes, I’ll carry the boy on my back.”

Eyes widening Kili stared from Thorin to Dwalin. Resigning himself, for they had no other choice or path and it was too dangerous for Kili to be on a pony on the path, Thorin gestured for Dwalin to give him the axes. 

Handing Thorin the harness, Dwalin turned to Kili and knelt. Kili clambered on and held on tightly as Dwalin straightened, “Laddie, why’re you shaking?” he asked the younger who borrowed into his coat with a soft sniffle, “My head really does hurt.”

Tightening his grip on the boy Dwalin simply forged on, following Thorin whose worry was radiating out of his tightly set shoulders.

Dwalin and Dori alternated carrying Kili, who had finally accepted some tea from Oin, and it was to everyone’s relief when the path smoothed and widened and an acceptable clearing in front of a cave presented itself. 

 

Thanking Dwalin and Dori, Kili clung to his brother whose first priority was to set Kili’s bedroll and help him settle to rest as the others set camp around them. He sat next to Kili who was curled up on his side, one hand gripping the hem of Fili’s coat. “Better?” he asked Kili as he adjusted blankets and pushed back hair, the cut was healing nicely. 

Kili gave a small nod before glancing at Thorin, “Sink uncle will let me borrow his coat?” Fili frowned with concern, the weather was not cold. “Think,” he corrected. “Are you cold?” he asked automatically reaching out to check for fever. Kili shook his head and shyly admitted, “It’s soft.”

That earned a grin from Fili who said, “I’m sure he’ll let you borrow it while you rest.” Calling out to Thorin, he lent back and could not hold back a grin at seeing his uncle’s soft look as he took off his coat and handed it to Kili who held it close to him as he finally settled to sleep.

Fili waited until his brother’s breathing had evened then asked Ori to sit with him as he sought out his uncle who was speaking with Oin, obviously concerned that Kili was still not acting himself. He waited until Oin and Thorin were done, the conclusion being Kili needed time and rest before asking his uncle to step out into the woods with him.

Fili lent against a tree, arms crossed, “Thorin, I give him a week. After, I take him back to Ered Luin.”

Thorin’s reaction was a swift refusal, “The lands are too dangerous for you to travel back alone!”

“We were not the ones to get lost getting to the shire.” Fili reminded softly, his tone showing he meant no offense.

The elder shook his head, “No. You will stay with the company, and we will care for him.”

Fili tried to control his temper, “Thorin! He acts like a child! The road is no place for him now. I will not have him reach Erebor in this state! We travelled from Ered Luin to many places before.”

Thorin grasped Fili’s shoulder, “Aye, when there were two of you to take watch and care for each other. Will you forsake sleep until you reach Ered Luin? Kili cannot be left unsupervised while you sleep.”

Eyes widened, for the thought had not occurred to him, Fili’s shoulders sagged with defeat, “I worry, Thorin. What if...”

Thorin would not let him finish, “Your brother is a dwarf, and we are a hardy people. Made in the image of Aule, one of the Valar, we are made to endure. He will be fine.”

Nodding, though unconvinced, he headed back to camp and therefore did not hear Thorin whisper to himself, “I hope.”

*****

Kili had taken a shining to Bombur that evening, for he took the time to take out the bits Kili hated from the stew and eat them himself so Thorin would not see he was being a picky eater. He spent the eve alternating between pestering Bombur with questions such as, “Can you eat an entire sheep?” and “How many blocks of cheese can you eat in one sitting?” and when he discovered how many children Bombur had, he proceeded to ask details about each and every one of them. His attention transferring to Gloin upon knowing that he too had a child. 

It had been such a pleasant evening, that no one could figure why the boy was suddenly despondent, borrowing into his uncle’s side and refusing any snacks or offers for stories. 

Thorin wrapped his arm around Kili, giving him a little shake, “What’s this? What’s wrong, Kili? Does your head hurt again?” Kili shook his head before hiding his face in Thorin’s coat. Thorin gave him a gentle shake, but was stopped by Fili who rubbed Kili’s back and said softly, “You miss Ma and home, don’t you, little brother?”

Kili gave a soft sniffle and the barest of nods, Thorin tightened his grip around Kili and allowed him to stay by his side all eve, loathing to force the boy to let go of what little comfort he had. 

*****

 

Fili woke up the next morning to panic. Kili was not next to him. Kili was not next to anyone. Panicking, he started calling out for Kili, waking the rest. 

Just as the panic had truly settled and they were about to spread out into woods, Kili’s voice rang out, “Fili! Look! Mister Nori and I found herbs for Mister Bombur to cook with!” hands full of herbs.

Fili all but threw himself at Kili crushing the herbs between them. “I thought you lost!”

Kili whined, “I was with Mister Nori! You were all asleep. Fili! You’re crushing the herbs and then Mr. Bombur can’t use them!” Fili forced himself to loosen his grip, stepping back but keeping his grip on Kili’s shoulders, “Never do that again! You tell Thorin or me, understand?”

Pouting, Kili nodded, mood lifting when Bombur thanked him for the herbs and promised to use them on their next meal. 

Thorin meanwhile had gone to Nori who raised his hands to calm the irate king, “He was awake and antsy, so I took him for a walk to distract him!”

Fists held tightly, shaking with worry, Thorin managed to growl, “Let us know, next time.” Before turning back to camp to check on his youngest nephew himself.

Kili’s entertainment for the day after the excitement of his family thinking him lost had gone, was Balin. At being reminded Balin was Dwalin’s brother and had been in many battles, Kili spent his day between pestering Balin for war stories and Bofur for new games to play, and Bifur for coin snatching demonstrations. 

During one of the stories, Kili had interrupted Balin with a question of, “and what did Thorin do after that?” which Balin indulged. 

Balin begged off stories when it was evening, and sat next to Thorin who watched Fili get Kili settled for the night. Balin nudged Thorin with his elbow and said, “Thorin.” The king turned to Balin with a questioning look and Balin continued, “He called you Thorin today.”

Thorin frowned in confusion and Balin elaborated, “While asking for details, he did not say Uncle Thorin, or Uncle Sorin, or Sorin...he said Thorin.” Patting Thorin’s arm Balin said, “The boy’s mending.”

*****

The next day found Kili addressing everyone but Dwalin by their names, for Dwalin shall forever be Mister Dwalin. Thorin found his shoulders relaxing slightly and when a few days after that, Kili rode his own pony at no one’s urging, Thorin found his breath came easier. 

And when days after coin snatching games and stories were slowly replaced by knife throwing competitions with wagers and bawdy songs Thorin finally allowed himself a full night’s rest.

Kili was mending. 

And when they had their first skirmish after Kili’s accident and Kili’s arrows struck true, Thorin allowed himself to thank Aule. 

Kili had mended.


End file.
